re-hire Kimi

He obviously is a great driver, but I truly believe Hamilton is in his head. He can beat anyone els. He is completely intimidated by Hamilton and doesn’t believe he can beat him. I really feel terrible saying this, but I’ve seen it in sports before. I wish him the best because I believe the pressure is really getting intense already.


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So why did he spin against Max last year when it is Lewis in his head? I think it has absolutely nothing to do with Lewis... Seb wants it too much and therefore overdrives at times, if somebody might get into his head then young Charles because he might see his chances winning at Ferrari vanishing...but after two races I still think it is too early to say

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Wow, I've been waiting since 2015 when Vettel joined Ferrari to hear others agree with me that the big sucking sound at Ferrari was Vettel. I never felt he would work out at Ferrari. Even should a miracle happen and Vettel win a WDC it won't be something I celebrate. He just isn't cut from Ferrari cloth.

 

Also take into account that Mercedes is a protected team. Any wheel to wheel action against them and the slightest touch or contact its a guarantee penalty. So that would put a bit of fear in challenging them on overtakes. The rest of the teams when they battle its a racing incident.

 

I'm not giving up on Seb.............yet. Last year, Seb & Kimi, were under MA rule while noting Seb made most of the mistakes that inevitably cost us. Yeah, I'll make fun of him for ****'s & grins when he "eff's up" but that's all it is.

Also noting he came within points to getting a race ban...then a month or two later those points grew further apart.

If Leclerc, with the "permission" of Binotto, does'nt light a fire inside Seb for 2019, then he's done for me.

 

Amusing thread this one.

Vettel is certainly not covering himself with glory already this year and I'm sure that unless he wins the title, he will not be there next season. The car was good enough last year and he failed, along with the team and that will not be tolerated again. Win the championship and he'll get another contract.

There's no way you'll see Alonso in a red car again. He's too difficult to work with and wouldn't allow Leclerc to flourish, besides he's long term contracted to Mclaren to test, drive Indy etc and contracted to Toyota for endurance racing.

Ricciardo next year is a good shout. He's likeable and proven to be quick. He's also got an Italian name which counts for something in Maranello. I'm sure Ferrari can get him out of that Renault contract if they really try. I'd like to see him give it a go, I think he deserves it.

Otherwise, as others have mentioned, Norris is looking decent already, but the one who can play the Ferrari 2nd man role next to Leclerc as a leader is actually Nico Hulkenberg. Ferrari have a long history of selecting a clear 2nd driver who can win a lot of points, won't break the car too often, is likeable, looks good in red hats and shirts and ultimately helps them win the constructor's title which is the ultimate prize internally in some ways. He's been around for years for a reason, it's not a fluke.

Finally, I'm sure that Verstappen wants to go to Ferrari at some point and if he continues the mature, error free driving of the last few races, that's a possibility in a couple of years. Love him or hate him, he's certainly massively fast and dedicated which is what fans want to see.

 

For sure, but cut him some slack. That being said, Seb needs to snap out of this. Urgently.

 

Can't really see Verstappen and Charles working together, Max will want number one status which I think Charles will earn at Ferrari with performances this year.

 

Leclerc and Schumacher would be a great combo of young, talented drivers. I too believe Seb to be over rated. Especially after all the mistakes he has had the costs point.

I think Seb has lost his edge. Leclerc is faster and I think you will see that time and time again this year. Let Seb go back to Red Bull, but to keep him at Ferrari is just prolonging the inevitable.

I too am Kimi's biggest fan, but with his age, it would be a band-aid for a bigger problem.

 

If charles keeps performing like he did in Bahrain Ferrari don't need the intra-team battle. I do think Ricciardo is an option. Less chance of fireworks. He won't settle for #2, but neither will Vettel.

Verstappen is in a difficult situation, I think. Red Bull claim their engine is good but their chassis is not up to par at the moment (considering they had to modify it post barcelona test there could be some truth in that). I have no doubt that Red Bull can sort the chassis/aero out in a quicker time frame than Ferrari gets something organized....but the Honda engine remains to be truly proven against the Mercedes/Ferrari. IF the Engine is not truly up to par, and Verstappen gets the option of joining Ferrari....would he? I don't think he'll be too fussed about joining Leclerc, but more about Ferrari's typical short comings. One thing he won't have to worry about is his seat at Red Bull suddenly becoming the one to have as quite simply Red Bull do not currently have the drivers in their line up to challenge for a title (if Max was gone). Unless they hire Ricciardo back (who I expect will be on that like a fly on fresh ****). That said I think Verstappen would've taken the title to the wire last year if not won it if he had Vettel's car.

Verstappen's only other option would be Mercedes but Hamilton will never have him alongside. Given the choice I'd say Hamilton would much rather have Vettel next to him. But I think that seat has Ocon written on it if Bottas would leave...

 

IF at all at the year Ferrari dumps Vettel or vice versa, I think Ricci will be poached.

 

He does need to snap out of this, no question.

The thing that irks me are the team orders from Melbourne. I understand that Ferrari did that with Leclerc being the rookie and all but it might actually come back to bite them. If Vettel remains sub par, they shouldn't hold Charles back but let him run for the title instead.

 

They will let Leclerc run for the title if at the season halfway or so, he is significantly ahead. They announced they would favour Seb as the more experienced driver and the decision in Australia was to protect team points, not to favour either driver. Given how intense a world F1 is, I think Seb is very lucky to still have a seat at Ferrari. The stats are that he made 6 mistakes in the last 13 races. That is massive. It points more to the psychological than to his skill set which has been proven as top drawer many times over.

 

Hamilton isn't renting space in his head? Rerun Baku again and tell me that. Rewatch the German GP from last year.

Hamilton absolutely owns Vettel. Given a few more races LeClerc will too.

 

What he said.

 

It's still not clear to me what happened in Australia. At the opening stint Vettel was far superior to Leclerc, but after Verstappen passed him Vettel lost all speed. Did he have an issue that Ferrari didn't want other teams to know (show they're vulnerable), or was Vettel really just cruising to save the engine? Or was it a third reason, Vettel didn't like the tyres at all and Leclerc was that much quicker on them?

for what it's worth I do not think it was the latter.

 

He just doesn't like to be passed and goes into mistake mode when it happens. Listen to his post-race interviews and he shrugs his shoulders and is altogether too accepting of his fate. Schumacher would be getting people fired, Alonso would publicly slate the team.

 

alonso in ferrari? With those KIMOA caps and glasses? No.

 

Agreed. His list of errors the last 3 seasons is laughable for the supposed lead driver.

 

Id rather have Hulkenburg than Ricciardo. Cheaper and an EXTREMELY underrated driver.

 

No competition between Hambone and the mentally fragile snowflake Vettel. Head to head racing and Vettel chokes. Ferrari needs to get rid of him ASAP.

 

How much money does it take to get his head in the right place ???

 

Don't know, but i i was paid 1/10th of what he is earning i would put my **** together real quick!

 

Yes, & we haven't even had to factor in Crashstappen yet. You KNOW he will end up taking either Hamilton or Vettel out at some point (because he owns the track & a 12ft radius around his car at all times) & Vettel will get jumpy if the 2 are in close proximity.

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I think Vettel still rates as good or better than Hamilton. Hamilton has the far better car. But I think I'm detecting the loss of interest in Vettel. You can see it in drivers it starts slowly, mistakes, just not getting into the car, not finding the grove, finding it harder to work with the team on set up, then when a younger - better team mate comes along... it starts to really accelerate. His comment that he does not know if he will be in F-1 after 2020 is telling. its either a statement of intent that he's done in F-1, or its a negotiation ploy with Mercedes, or Ferrari. All is not well with Vettel, and the change to Ferrari has not helped.... I think he simply has not been able to adapt to the turbo era like some of the others have. the removal of all the "blown" Diffusers etc... has impacted his driving.

if Vettel were to leave who would be in with Leclerc? I think you could see Bottas or Hamilton doubt Riccardo for a year... but in reality it would likely go to Schumacher if Leclerc is in the top 3 this year or WDC. .... I don't see Ferrari wanting to have two complete rookies in the line up... I also don't see either Raikkonenn or Alonso coming back to Ferrari... they are simply too old, too expensive and Alonso is too toxic.